:Wilson College (Pennsylvania)

The college was founded as the "Wilson Female College2 by the Rev. Tryon Edwards and the Rev. James W. Wightman,{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CXLHze2XsPQC&q=Tryon+Edwards+wightman+founded&pg=PT37 | title=Changing Course: Reinventing Colleges, Avoiding Closure: New Directions for Higher Education, Number 156| isbn=978-1-118-27536-8| last1=Brown| first1=Alice W.| last2=Ballard| first2=Sandra L.| date=15 December 2011| publisher=John Wiley & Sons}} pastors of Presbyterian churches in nearby Hagerstown, Maryland, and Greencastle, Pennsylvania.{{Cite web | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t0ZFAQAAMAAJ&q=Tryon+Edwards+wightman+hagerstown&pg=PA78 |title = Biographical Annals of Franklin County, Pennsylvania: Containing Genealogical Records of Representative Families, Including Many of the Early Settlers, and Biographical Sketches of Prominent Citizens|year = 1978}} The original charter was granted by the Pennsylvania Legislature on March 24, 1869.{{Cite web | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=x63tAAAAMAAJ&q=wilson+college+March+24,+1869 |title = The Centennial Memorial of the Presbytery of Carlisle: A Series of Papers, Historical and Biographical, Relating to the Origin and Growth of Presbyterianism in the Central and Eastern Part of Southern Pennsylvania|year = 1889}}{{Cite web | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PZIkAQAAIAAJ&q=wilson+college+March+24,+1869&pg=PA230 | title=The Church at Home and Abroad| year=1890}} The college took its present name, "Wilson College", in 1920.{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rvY9AAAAYAAJ&q=%22wilson+college%22++women+first&pg=PA11|title=Significant Dates in the Early History of Institutions for the Higher Education of Women in the United States|first=Elizabeth Nelson|last=Layton|date=March 26, 1948|publisher=Federal Security Agency, Office of Education, Division of Higher Education|via=Google Books}} Wilson was one of the first colleges in the U.S. to accept only female students. Its 1870 promotional materials stated that the college was a place for women "to be leaders, not followers, in society".{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VGOqCQAAQBAJ&q=%22wilson+college%22++first+women;s&pg=PA567|title=Gender and Women's Leadership: A Reference Handbook|first=Karen|last=O'Connor|date=August 18, 2010|publisher=SAGE Publications|isbn=978-1-4833-0541-7|via=Google Books}}{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X8GfDYyvpZ4C&q=%22wilson+college%22++leaders+not+followers+1870&pg=SL1-PA4736|title=Congressional Record: Proceedings and Debates of the ... Congress|first=United States|last=Congress|date=March 26, 1949|publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office|via=Google Books}} Instruction began in 1870, with the first academic degree awarded in 1874.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qvnnCQAAQBAJ&q=%22wilson+college%22++women+first&pg=PA1183|title=American Universities and Colleges, 19th Edition [2 Volumes]: Nineteenth Edition|date=April 16, 2010|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-0-313-36608-6|via=Google Books}}

The college was modeled after the Seven Sisters colleges.{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2exBAAAAIAAJ&q=wilson+college+modeled+vassar&pg=PA268|title=Presbyterians, a Popular Narrative of Their Origin, Progress, Doctrines, and Achievements|first=George Price|last=Hays|date=March 26, 1892|publisher=J. A. Hill & Company|via=Google Books}} It was named for Sarah Wilson (1795–1871),{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uoJsfP_xMewC&q=wilson+college+Sarah+Wilson+donation |title = Guide to the State Historical Markers of Pennsylvania|isbn = 978-0-89271-040-9|last1 = Beyer|first1 = George R.|year = 1991| publisher=Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission }} whose donations were used to purchase the campus land.{{Cite web | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=B6sAAAAAYAAJ&q=wilson+college+Sarah+Wilson+donation&pg=PA466 | title=A History of Education in Pennsylvania, Private and Public, Elementary and Higher: From the Time the Swedes Settled on the Delaware to the Present Day| last1=Wickersham| first1=James Pyle| year=1886}}{{Cite web | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-c9KAQAAMAAJ&q=%22Sarah+Wilson%22+two+donations+college | title=Legislative Record| year=1969| last1=General Assembly| first1=Pennsylvania}}{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=we2KvdT3zOsC&q=%22wilson+college%22++women+first&pg=PA917|title=Encyclopedia of Women and Religion in North America|first1=Rosemary Skinner|last1=Keller|first2=Rosemary Radford|last2=Ruether|first3=Marie|last3=Cantlon|date=March 26, 2006|publisher=Indiana University Press|isbn=978-0-253-34685-8|via=Google Books}}

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Anna Jane McKeag was inaugurated as Wilson's first woman president in 1911;{{Cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1912/05/19/archives/dr-anna-j-mckeag-inaugurated-as-the-new-president-of-wilson-college.html |title = Dr. Anna J. McKeag Inaugurated as the New President of Wilson College -- Representatives of Many Universities Attend the Ceremony|newspaper = The New York Times|date = 19 May 1912}}{{Cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1912/04/28/archives/first-woman-president-miss-anna-jane-mckeag-now-at-the-head-of.html | title=FIRST WOMAN PRESIDENT.; Miss Anna Jane McKeag Now at the Head of Wilson College| newspaper=The New York Times| date=28 April 1912}} she was succeeded in 1915 by Ethelbert Dudley Warfield.{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KfVXAAAAYAAJ&q=Ethelbert+Dudley+Warfield.++1915+wilson|title=Intellect|date=March 26, 1933|via=Google Books}}

In 1967 the Wilson College sailing team won the first Intercollegiate Sailing Association national championship held in a women's event (dinghy).{{cite web | title= ICSA Championships | url= http://www.collegesailing.org/nas/ | access-date= 2009-09-01 | url-status= dead | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110720123618/http://www.collegesailing.org/nas/ | archive-date= 2011-07-20 }}

Although it nearly closed its doors in 1979, a lawsuit organized by students, faculty, parents and an alumnae association succeeded in allowing the college to remain open. It is one of the few colleges to survive a scheduled closing.{{Cite web | url=https://www.businessinsider.com/sweet-briar-college-staying-open-wilson-college-lawsuit-2015-3 |title = Alumnae are fighting to stop an imploding college from closing, and one court case could provide a 'legal roadmap' for them to do it| website=Business Insider }}{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CXLHze2XsPQC&q=wilson+college+phoenix&pg=PT42 | title=Changing Course: Reinventing Colleges, Avoiding Closure: New Directions for Higher Education, Number 156| isbn=978-1-118-27536-8| last1=Brown| first1=Alice W.| last2=Ballard| first2=Sandra L.| date=15 December 2011| publisher=John Wiley & Sons}} It subsequently adopted the Phoenix as its mascot, to symbolize the college's survival.

In 1982, Wilson began offering a continuing studies program (now known as the Adult Degree Program) to meet the needs of adults seeking post-secondary education. In 1996, the college was one of the first in the nation to offer on-campus residential housing for single mothers living with children.{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cOKODgAAQBAJ&q=%22wilson+college%22++women+first&pg=PA354 | title=The Wiley Handbook of Early Childhood Development Programs, Practices, and Policies| isbn=978-1-118-93729-7| last1=Votruba-Drzal| first1=Elizabeth| last2=Dearing| first2=Eric| date=17 April 2017| publisher=John Wiley & Sons}}{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1gJyPzLAx2cC&q=%22wilson+college%22++mothers+program&pg=PA171 |title = Colleges That Encourage Character Development: A Resource for Parents, Students, and Educators|isbn = 978-1-890151-28-7|last1 = Foundation|first1 = John Templeton|year = 1999| publisher=Templeton Foundation Press }}

The first men to attend Wilson entered at the end of World War II when an influx of male students created shortages at co-educational and men's colleges. These men attended classes for one year before transferring to other colleges. Men later became eligible to earn degrees from Wilson through the Adult Degree Program, although the traditional undergraduate college remained a college for women. In 2013, the college's board of trustees voted to extend coeducation across all programs; the first male residential students began studies at Wilson in fall 2014.{{cite journal |url=http://chronicle.com/article/article-content/136657/ |title=Seeking Enrollment Boost, Wilson College Will Admit Men |author=awrence Biemiller |journal=The Chronicle of Higher Education |date=January 13, 2013 |access-date=January 13, 2013}}{{Cite web | url=https://www.pennlive.com/midstate/2013/08/wilson_college_co-ed_men_chamb.html |title = Wilson College begins co-ed era|date = 26 August 2013}}

The Wilson College campus is located at the edge of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, on both sides of the Conococheague Creek.{{Cite web | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_CdnrWIknsYC&q=wilson+college+Chambersburg,+Pennsylvania,+on+both+sides+of+the+Conococheague+Creek. |title = Annual report of the Commissioner of Health of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. 1907|year = 1908}} The property was originally bought from newspaper editor and state senator Alexander McClure, whose home had been burnt in 1864 by Confederates under the orders of General Jubal Early.{{Cite web | url=https://www.post-gazette.com/life/travel/2008/04/13/A-scary-night-at-Wilson-College/stories/200804130241 |title = A scary night at Wilson College}} The home was rebuilt before being sold to the college.{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pPGULRssbL8C&q=Alexander+McClure+wilson+college&pg=PA20 |title = Pennsylvania Civil War Trails: The Guide to Battle Sites, Monuments, Museums and Towns|isbn = 978-0-8117-3379-3|last1 = Huntington|first1 = Tom|year = 2007| publisher=Stackpole Books }}

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The college offers 34 undergraduate majors, 40 undergraduate minors, and master's degrees. The most popular majors are in the fields of agriculture and agricultural sciences, animal-assisted therapy, biological sciences, nursing, and veterinary nursing.{{cite web |title=Wilson College - Profile, Rankings and Data |url=https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/wilson-college-3396 |website=US News |access-date=21 January 2021}}{{cite web |title=Wilson College - Niche |url=https://www.niche.com/colleges/wilson-college/ |website=Niche |access-date=21 January 2021}}

Wilson athletic teams are named the Phoenix. The college is a member of the Division III level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), primarily competing in the United East Conference (UEC) since rejoining the conference for the 2023–24 academic year. The Phoenix previously competed in the Colonial States Athletic Conference CSAC from 2017–18 to 2022–23, having been members of the United East Conference prior to that.

Wilson competes in 11 intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include baseball, basketball, golf, soccer and volleyball; while women's sports include basketball, field hockey, lacrosse, soccer, softball and volleyball. Club sports include archery, equestrian and pep talk. The women's equestrian team competes in numerous IHSA and other events.{{cite web|url= https://www.wilson.edu/wilson-adds-ncea-equestrian-fall-2020|title= Wilson Adds NCEA Equestrian For Fall 2020|access-date=2022-05-07}}

Wilson began sponsoring men's sports in 2014–15, when the college became coeducational.

Basketball and Volleyball teams play in the Gannett Memorial Field House, located on campus. Softball, Lacrosse, and Soccer teams compete at the fields located in Kris' Meadow, adjacent to the campus' own farm land and facilities. Baseball plays at historic Henninger Field nearby in downtown Chambersburg, renovated and reopened in 2019.

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• Betty Andujar, Texas politician{{Cite web |last=Craig |first=Maddison |title=Andujar, Elizabeth Richards |url=https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fandu |website=The Handbook of Texas Online |agency=Texas State Historical Association}}
• Emily Bacon (1891–1972), physician
• Pauline Morrow Austin, meteorologist
• Pauline Donnan (1885–1934), opera singer
• Martha Gandy Fales (1930–2006), art historian and curator
• Amy Gilbert (1895–1980), historian
• Zack Hanle, cooking author and journalist
• Roberta Frances Johnson (1902–1988), American mathematician
• Katherine Laich (1910–1992), librarian
• Kate Hevner Mueller (1898–1984), psychologist and educator
• Irene Neal, painter
• Mary Lawson Neff (1862–1945), neurologist
• Hannah J. Patterson (1879–1937), suffragist
• Bonnie Lineweaver Paul, attorney and politician{{Cite web | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Rp1DAQAAIAAJ&q=Bonnie+Lineweaver+Paul,+wilson+college |title = Manual of the Senate and House of Delegates|last1 = General Assembly|first1 = Virginia|year = 1976}}
• Joan Risch, homemaker who went missing from her home in the Boston suburbs in 1961
• Sally Hoyt Spofford (1914–2002), ornithologist{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4fNPAAAAYAAJ&q=Sally+Hoyt+Spofford+wilson+college | title=For the birds: The Laboratory of Ornithology and Sapsucker Woods at Cornell University| isbn=978-0-9746396-0-4| last1=Little| first1=Randolph S.| year=2003| publisher=For the Birds}}
• Elizabeth Schofield (1935–2005), archaeologist and classical scholar
• Rosedith Sitgreaves (1915–1992), statistician and professor
• Delia Velculescu, economist
• Frances Wick (1875–1941), physicist

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• [https://wilsonphoenix.com/ Athletics website]

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